Know About Sages Of India. Thedal Quiz #14 Answers

Thanks again for your active participation in our 14th quiz with a theme of sages of India. We had several entries for this quiz.

The winner of this quiz is:

Sriniketh

Many congratulations!

Here are the answers to the questions:

1. Who was also known by the name Krishna Dwaipaayana?

3. Veda Vyasa. He is the author of the great epic Mahabharata and also Bhaagavatha Purana. Because of his dark complexion (Krishna) and the fact that he was born in an island (Dweepam), he also came to be known as Krishna Dwaipayana.

2. Which sage was known as Ratnaakara in his former life?

4. Valmiki. In the earlier period of his life, he was a thief with the name of Ratnakara who waylaid people and robbed their valuables. During one instance, Sage Narada confronted him and gave him enlightenment. As a result he became Valmiki and wrote the first ever epic, Ramayana.

3. Which mighty sage created a parallel heaven midway between the earth and sky?

1. Viswamitra. Though born as a Kshatriya, king Kaushika wanted to become a great sage like Vashista and started doing severe penance. However every time, he lost his earned powers due to either anger or desire. One time, King Thrishanku wanted to visit heaven in his mortal body and sought the sage’s help to do so. Viswamitra through his divine powers made him fly and reach the gates of heaven.

However, as was the norm, King Indra didn’t allow King Thrishanku to enter heaven and pushed him down. Angered, the sage then decided to create a parallel heaven and decided to make Thrishanku a parallel Indra. This alarmed the Devas who explained to the sage about the impossibility of the situation. So Viswmamitra let Thrisanku rule the place he created without getting into heaven. The place came to be known as Thrishanku Svargam.

4. Who kicked Lord Narayana in his chest when he didn’t offer welcome to him at Vaikunta?

2. Bhrigu. One time, many great sages gathered at the bank of river Sarasvati to perform a sacrifice. They wanted to offer primary respect to one of the Trinity Lord Vishnu, Brahma, and Shiva. In order to find out which among the three is worthy of, it was decided that Bhrigu will test and decide who was pre-eminent. Bhrigu went to the abode of each of the Trimurti. Lord Brahma ignored him while Lord Shiva offendeded him. Then, he visited Lord Vishnu.

Vishnu was asleep and didn’t pay heed to the arrival of the sage. This angered the sage who kicked him in the chest to wake him up. Vishnu woke up and smilingly welcomed Bhrigu offered to press his feet to relieve the pain of kicking. Upon witnessing this Bhrigu declared Vishnu the worthiest among Trimurti. This episode is also the main reason for the origins of Lord Venkatesha of Tirupati.

 

5. Which sage formulated the Shukla (White) Yajur Veda?

1. Yagnavalkya. Sage Yagnavalkya is considered as one of the one of earliest sages of Hinduism. He is associated with several scriptures such has Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, Shatapatha Brahmana, Yagnavalkya Smriti etc. In addition, he is also attributed to segmentation of Yajur Veda into Krishna and Shukla (Black and White) and is the proponent of Shukla Yajur veda.

6. Which sage wrote the first ever grammar treatise in Tamil?

3. Agastya. For more details, you can read this post.

7. Which sage tested the Pandavas during their stay in the forest and demanded that he and his disciples be fed?

3. Durvasa. When Pandavas were in the forest fulfilling their 12 year term, Duryodhana and Shakuni schemed to humiliate them. They requested Sage Durvasa and his entourage of disciples to visit the Pandavas in the forest. Thus they went to meet Pandavas and as was the custom, were to be fed by them. Unfortunately for the Pandavas, the Akshaya Paatra (the vessel that provides endless food) was exhausted for the day once Draupadi ate. She prayed to Lord Krishna who materialized there and put a morsel of food that was sticking in the vessel into his mouth. This caused all beings including Durvasa and his disciples to feel full and leave the place.

8. Who is the father of sage Durvasa and also one of the Saptha rishis?

4. Atri. He is one of the primary Seven Sages (Saptha Rishis) . He is married to Anasuya Devi and is the father of Durvasa, Dattatreya and Chandra.

9. In Ramayana, which sage brought long-awaited rain to the kingdom of King Romapada?

3. Rishyashringa. His possessed so much powers that his mere presence in a country could cause rains to end severe famines. His father Vibhandaka was disillusioned with women and brought up his son with no knowledge about women in general. However due to a severe famine in his kingdom, King Romapada had to seek the help of some dancers from his kingdom to lure the young sage to his country.

This went according to plan and Rishyashringa was fascinated by the dancers and started following them to Romapada’s kingdom. The moment he set foot in the kingdom, rains lashed the place and the famine vanished. The king managed to pacify the furious Vibhandaka and gave his daughter Shanta in marriage to Rishyashringa. The same sage also did the sacrifice of progeny (Putra kameshti yaga) on behalf of King Dasaratha which yielded him Rama and his three brothers.

rishyashrungaya munaye vibhaandaka suthaaya cha
nama: shaanthadhipathaye sadya: sadhvrushti hethave

10. Who is the narrator of Bhagavata purana and also the son of Veda Vyasa?

2. Shuka. He is the son of the sage Vyasa and the narrator of the Bhagavata Purana. Most of Bhagavata Purana is in the form of recitation by Shuka the stories of various yugas to king Parikshit who is the successor of Pandavas.

11. Which sage brought up Shakuntala who eventually married king Dushyantha?

2. Kanva. Sage Kanva found Shakuntala as a baby in a forest and started to bring her up. Shakuntala upon seeing King Dushyantha fell in love with him and they married secretly. Due to certain events Dushyantha forgot Shakuntala and left to his kingdom. When he came to his senses, he rushed to Kanva’s ashram to see a boy playing around. He realized that it was indeed his own son born to Shakuntala and his name was Bharata. Bharata grew up to be a great ruler and it is the name our country came to possess now – Bharat aka Bharatavarsha.

12. Name the Guru of Lord Krishna when he went for Gurukulam along with his friend Sudama.

4. Sandipini. As per Bhagavata Puraṇa, Lord Krishna, Balarama and their friend Sudama studied under the tutelage of Sandipani rishi. Upon completion of their studies, they persuaded their teacher to ask for Guru dakshina (fees). Sandipani asked for his child, who had disappeared in the ocean. Krishna and Balarama then found that the son had been snatched away by a demon. They fought the demon and bring the child back to their teacher, thus fulfilling their guru dakshina.